Yesterday the Star Tribune published nonprofit 100 the 16th annual report along with complementary reports on nonprofit CEO salaries and features on nonprofits serving youth in crisis and small business lending.
Themes of cost-cutting, consolidation and new business models are not really news in the nonprofit sector. The featured youth counseling and emergency shelter organization reported a growth in need of services of 20 percent along with a drop of 25 percent in funding. The ability of the executive director to keep the doors open and continue to provide services is only possible because this organization has embraced drastic change. While the top 100 nonprofits list is a sample of services to the community the real message the public should hear that “there has been no economic recovery for many small nonprofits” The largest 34 social service agencies in the survey saw an increase in revenue in 2010 but that is not the case for many agencies.
While most of us that work in the nonprofit sector have been bracing for the current increased need for services and decreased amount of resources available the accompanying article in the Star Tribune about nonprofit CEO salaries with the tag “how much is too much” was an unfortunate perspective. By running the question of how nonprofit leaders should be compensated along with a list of the top 100 nonprofits I can assure you that many nonprofit office phones will be ringing this week. I personally think it is a good thing for donors to know about the organizations they support and what their contributions are supporting. My work in fundraising for nonprofits makes my salary probably the least favorite expense item for many donors. This article raises alarms that all nonprofit leaders are taking home top salaries and are being paid with money that would otherwise be used for programs and services. While is always going to be nonprofits with inflated salary lines, it has been my experience that most nonprofit leaders are mission driven and that top talent at any agency is deserving of top compensation—for profit or nonprofit.
Maybe it is my overly vilified status within the nonprofit structure that makes me sensitive to the Star Tribune annual report. But I can’t help to make a few comparisons at “the street level” and across sectors. I find it interesting to compare for example what people are willing to pay mechanics and plumbers (my apologies to Joe) for routine maintenance and repairs vs. what people are willing to pay for the care and feeding of their children or elderly parents.
I think the challenge is to the greater community perspective—starting with individuals—and the question isn’t how much is too much but what are these services worth?
